We have been talking about child’s freedom. What kind of freedom shall we give to our child to help his development? If we are not careful, we will misuse the word “freedom” and lead to behavioral issues. Maria Montessori, a well known early childhood educator who is also the founder of Montessori Early Childhood Development Method has drawn out the types of freedom that we need to provide to our child:
- Freedom of Movement - allow the child to explore his own physical strength and ability as well as his environment in order to learn about the world that he is living.
- Freedom of Choice - allow the child to choose his activity. Activities/materials are to be child size and suitable to his level of development. The child can be easily access to the activity prepared for him whenever he needs.
- Freedom of Speech - allow the child to express himself and develops his communication skills. We need to listen to him and advise if necessary.
These freedoms are given so that our child has the opportunity to explore and discover himself, his own identity and personality. Sometimes we didn’t realize that we have restricted our child’s freedom when we are trying to protect him from getting hurt. I met a 3.5 years old boy who does not know how to feed himself because his parents love him too much that he has been spoon fed since baby by his maid. Some adults who love to instruct children to do this and that without giving freedom to the children to choose their own activity, will train a group of children that can’t make decision of what to do if the adults do not give them any instruction of what to do. They will normally come to you and ask you, “What can I do?”. They become too dependent. They just wait for the instruction to act.
Nevertheless, Maria Montessori did mention that each freedom must have its limitation. The limitation that we set is to protect his safety and the safety of others as well. In another words, we set ground rules in the environment. These ground rules are to help them to learn to respect other people in the environment. At the same time, he learns to control himself and develop self discipline with a positive mindset that he always considers other people’s need.
Limits for Freedom of Movement
- May not run in school or at home. Running is only in the garden or park.
- May not take over sibling’s or friend’s work without permission from the other party.
- May not snatch, hit, kick, push or bite.
- May not abuse the materials such as throwing, without return materials to the original place etc.
Benefits of freedom of movement with limits
- Develops control of fine and gross body movement.
- Develops spatial awareness in his environment.
- Cultivate good manners and morals, e.g. respects others.
Limits for Freedom of Choice
- Must wait for turn.
- Must handle the materials/activity in a proper way. Allow adults to demonstrate how.
Benefits of freedom of choice with limits
- Develops sense of order.
- Develops respects for materials or activities.
- Develops concentration and self-discipline.
- Develops independence.
- Promotes self-motivation.
Limits for Freedom of Speech
- No shouting.
- Always respect silence of others.
- Listen when one speaks. Do not interrupt when one speaks.
- Learns to take turns to talk by waiting ones finish his speech.
Benefits of freedom of speech with limits
- Develops intellectual growth.
- Encourages social interaction.
- Promotes self-image through language.
By giving the proper amount of freedom needed to our child, we are able to develop a child that is happy, expressive and confident. We respect a child’s needs by giving the freedom. We need to be patient to guide them so that they learn to understand their limitation in order to respect others in his surrounding at all time. This will develop a future generation that is caring and responsible individuals.
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